Security tokens have long been in use. The function of a security token is to authenticate either the token itself or the individual or other entity associated with the token. For instance, the token may take the form of a check or other negotiable document. Numerous security planchettes, such as holograms, watermarks, and the like have been applied to such documents to make forgery and duplication of such tokens difficult. The prior art has also taught to provide encapsulated fragrances as a form of security planchette, whereby the authenticity of a document or other token may be verified by determining whether the token emits a scent when an attempt is made to rupture the microcapsules.
Authentication tokens also may be used to identify the entity associated with the token, such as to provide identification information on a security badge or to identify the contents or destination of a box that bears a shipping tag. Often, an authentication token will contain numerous authenticating indicia, some of which are used to authenticate the token and some of which are used for other authentication purposes. For instance, credit cards and other financial transaction cards prepared in accordance with standards such as ISO 7810:1995, 7811-1, 7811-2, 7811-3, 7811-4, 7811-5, 7811-6, 7813 and related standards often containing one or more planchettes, such as a hologram, in addition to magnetically encoded information. The magnetically encoded information identifies the account number of the cardholder and can be used to process transactions, such as purchases and debit withdrawals. The hologram is difficult to forge and the presence of the hologram is intended to provide assurance to the recipient of the card that the card is genuine.
Sophisticated forging techniques have been devised and continue to evolve, and there is a continuing need for new fonns of authentication tokens. Ideally, an authentication token should be difficult to forge or duplicate, and should be amenable to numerous uses, from non-security applications such as warehouse tags, to low security applications such as library cards and “frequent guest” or “frequent diner” cards issued by restaurants and other businesses, to high security applications such as access badges and secure documents. The invention seeks to provide such an authentication token, and also to provide methods and systems involving the same.